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CU-Boulder adds $13M to cost of athletic facilities project

Project now expected to cost $156M due to high labor costs, poor soil conditions

By Sarah Kuta, Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
08/02/2014 01:56:17 PM MDT

Updated:
08/03/2014 06:53:39 AM MDT

Ongoing improvements to the University of Colorado's athletic facilities are now expected to cost $13 million more than had already been budgeted. (
Cliff Grassmick
)

The University of Colorado is tacking on an additional $13 million to the cost of the $143 million athletic facilities upgrades on the Boulder campus because of poor soil conditions and high labor costs.

That brings the total anticipated cost of the expansion and renovation project to $156 million.

Campus officials will request approval for the project cost increase at a Wednesday meeting of the Board of Regents. An agenda for that meeting with information about the additional cost was made public today.

According to the agenda, the Boulder campus is requesting that the regents revise the two-year cash list for 2014-2015 because of "unforeseen cost escalation" for the athletic facilities project, which includes an expansion of the Dal Ward Athletic Center, construction of an indoor practice facility and an addition to the stadium's northeast corner, among other things.

The additional $12,999,075 will come from the athletic department, not the campus, according to the agenda document. That money is needed to help address "unanticipated inflation, discovered poor soil conditions not evident in soil borings and a current premium in the labor market in the Colorado Front Range," according to the document.

"It's the same scope of work it's just become more expensive to do what we set out to do," said campus spokesman Bronson Hilliard.

"There have been huge construction cost increases in the Denver market. The market for construction right now is really hot, particularly the specialized labor that you need in different portions of the project. The electrical work and the earth-moving work is much more expensive (than anticipated)."

Overall construction costs in the Denver metro area are expected to rise by 8 percent this year, Hilliard said.

In addition to rising costs across the Front Range, the campus was met with unexpectedly poor soil conditions, he added.

"The quality of the soil that they found there is much poorer than their soil samplings indicated," he said. "It will require more reinforcement."

The athletic department is responsible for the full cost of the project, and plans to pay for the upgrades with fundraising, business contracts and bond revenues.

"This isn't going to result in student or taxpayer dollars taking on the burden of this," Hilliard said.

Athletic director Rick George had originally been tasked with raising one-third of the total cost of the project before construction could begin, but the regents reneged on that stipulation in April. Construction began in early May.

At last check, George and his team had raised more than $40 million for the project.

Crews are also building an underground parking facility beneath the proposed indoor practice facility, which is expected to cost $25 million. That project is separate from the athletic facilities upgrades and will be paid for by the campus.

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